You want to create your own social network, but you don’t have venture capital funding or the financial backing of a solid company behind you. You may be a solopreneur, a small business owner, a hobbyist, or an activist with a cause to promote. Your goal could be to retire on what you earn from your social networking venture, or you could be striving for a reward that’s not financial. Can you create your own social networking site without breaking the bank? The answer is a definite yes.
Let’s say you’re an avid spelunker, and you want to create a community for other cave explorers worldwide. So far, no one else has created a social networking site targeting your favorite activity. You don’t understand why and think that you’re just the person to do it. You’re already envisioning a site where fellow spelunkers could connect with each other, share tips and adventures, and shop for their favorite items. Your big question is this: Where do you start?
The good news is that there are dozens of options for creating your own social network. The bad news is that it takes time to learn what’s available and determine what works best for your goals. After you weed out solutions designed for larger businesses, there’s still a rather lengthy list of options for do-it-yourselfers, both those who have web development skills and those who need a true end-user solution. Two good options that require little technical skill are Ning and CollectiveX.
Ning (www.ning.com) enables you to quickly create your own network with its easy-to-use tools that require no programming knowledge. You can brand your network with your own logo and select from a long list of possible features such as profiles, photo sharing, video sharing, music, podcasts, groups, discussion forums, blogs, and much more. If you are technically inclined, you can join Ning’s developer program to make advanced customizations.
Although there’s no charge to create a basic social network (Ning profits from ads placed on your site), you can choose to upgrade to premium features for a fee. These extras include the ability to run your own ads rather than Ning’s ads, use your own domain name, and increase your storage and bandwidth. One of the few downsides to Ning is that your users are pooled with the common Ning user base, rather than one specific only to your site.
CollectiveX (www.collectivex.com) also makes creating a social network easy. Free, advertising-supported CollectiveX groupsites offer a long list of features, including member profiles, email blasts, photo galleries, calendars, discussion forums, and more. Fee-based, premium features give you the option to remove advertising, enhance member privacy and security, map to another domain, make advanced customizations, and more. Although CollectiveX doesn’t enable you to profit from your own ads yet, that feature is planned for the future.
Looking for even more options? If you’re a fan of open-source software, consider PHPizabi (www.phpizabi.net). KickApps (www.kickapps.com) is also a viable option if you’re eager to customize and you have some web development skills. Others solutions to consider among the dozens available include CrowdVine (www.crowdvine.com), ONEsite (www.onesite.com), and PeopleAggregator (www.broadbandmechanics.com).
Creating a successful social networking site comes from solid knowledge. Here’s a short list of things you should know before you start to implement your own site.
Your first step is to do some research. Do you want a solution that’s easy to set up and is hosted on another company’s servers? Is it important that you brand your network to your own specifications using what’s known as a “white label” application? Do you want to host your network on your own servers? What features are critical to have? Often, your initial answer to these questions will be “I don’t know.”
By doing some research into the types of solutions available and what each offers, you’ll get a better feeling for what is currently possible in terms of creating your own social network. This is a rapidly evolving field, with new software and solutions announced on a frequent basis. In addition to the previous options mentioned, search for “create your own social network” on your favorite search engine to discover even more possibilities.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Know that if you want to create a social networking site on a shoestring budget, you’ll have to make concessions. You may have to live with the hosting company’s ads on your site (they get the revenue, not you) as well as the lack of a domain name and other branding options. True “white label” applications that you can completely rebrand to your own specifications usually charge a fee.
Be sure that a do-it-yourself social networking platform is what you want to use. A free, easy-to-use system is a big plus, but not if it doesn’t offer the features you want. If your plans are ambitious, you may be better off purchasing a more-robust, customizable solution.
If your don’t know the difference between PHP and API, choose a solution that’s designed for do-it-yourself end users or be prepared to spend the money to hire someone who does. Knowing what you don’t know, or can’t learn quickly, is critical. Technical skill isn’t required to set up a social networking site, but you’ll have to live with certain limitations. If you want a slick, customized solution and don’t have the right skills, factor that need into your budget from the beginning.
A clear business model is critical to success. Do you plan to create a site that generates profit from advertising revenue, sales of your own products, or affiliate sales? Will your network be a fee-based membership site? Is your goal to generate publicity and awareness for your business or a social cause? Or are you creating a site that brings together a group of likeminded people with no profit motivation?
The time you spend on assessing your goals, options, and skills will be time well spent and lead you to success in your social networking adventure.